


You're Worth the Drive

by Impala_Chick



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Banter, Flirting, Getting Together, M/M, Ranching, Summer, Summer Romance, Werewolf Senses, country songs, ranch work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 21:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17926370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impala_Chick/pseuds/Impala_Chick
Summary: Liam was with his dad in Fresno for the summer, and Fresno was within driving distance. Theo figured if he drove out there, he could get some closure and maybe figure out where things stood between him and Liam. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea.So he put a change of clothes in his duffel bag in case of emergency, asked Mason for Mr. Dunbar’s address, got into his truck, and turned onto CA-99.





	You're Worth the Drive

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Auddieliz09](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auddieliz09/gifts).



> Written for My Thiam Valentine 2019! This isn't exactly Valentine's Day themed, but it's definitely romance themed. Heavily inspired by your country boys mood board. Hope you love country!Liam as much as Theo does ;D
> 
> Title from the song [See You Tonight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFlv4O7VE-A) by Scotty McCreery.

When Liam told Theo he was leaving for the summer, Theo hadn’t said anything. He had contemplated some standard responses, like _see you when you get back_ or _have a great summer_ , or even worse, _i’ll miss you_. None of them seemed acceptable, so he’d just nodded and waved, before walking away. 

That was two weeks ago. And every morning since then, Theo woke up with an unfamiliar itch under his skin, a sure sign that he had made a mistake and was regretting it. Liam was with his dad in Fresno, and Fresno was within driving distance. If he drove out there, he could get some closure and maybe figure out where things stood between him and Liam. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. 

So he put a change of clothes in his duffel bag in case of emergency, asked Mason for Mr. Dunbar’s address, got into his truck, and turned onto CA-99.

*

Theo turned off the highway onto a long gravel driveway, a house barely visible in the distance. There was a green mailbox that stood at the beginning of the driveway with the correct address printed on it, so Theo trusted his GPS and headed for the house. His truck kicked up a swirl of dust that he could see in his rear-view mirror, but he didn’t see much movement otherwise. On either side of the driveway were fields of shin-tall yellow grass, and large black cows milling around. As Theo approached, he could make out a small, modest one-story home with beige siding. To the left of the house was a huge red barn with white trim. It looked like the barns described in all of the country songs Theo had heard on the radio on the way. There were also two trucks, bigger than Theo’s, parked outside.

As Theo pulled up alongside one of them and put his truck in park, a man came out of the barn with long floppy hair protruding out from his baseball cap. His face had an uncanny resemblance to Liam. 

“Uh, Mr. Dunbar?” Theo hopped out of the truck, his hand out and a big smile firmly plastered on his face.

“Who is asking?” The man said, his eyes narrowed at Theo. He crossed his arms, pointedly ignoring Theo’s outstretched hand. 

“I’m looking for Liam,” Theo replied confidently. He wasn’t going to let this guy intimidate him, even if this was Theo’s dad. The man just kept staring him down, though, and Theo was sure he would have growled at Theo if he could of.

“Son?” The man hollered, without breaking eye contact with Theo.

Theo braced himself for a fight, but he immediately relaxed when he saw a mop of dark hair and a flash of blue eyes. Liam emerged from the barn in faded overalls, a tight white t-shirt, and black rubber boots that went up as high as his shins. He looked every inch the country boy, and it wasn’t exactly a bad look.

“Dad? What’s going on?” He called out. Then Liam looked over and realized who his dad was talking to. “Theo?” Liam looked between his dad and Theo, his eyes wide. 

“You didn’t tell me you were expecting someone,” Liam’s dad said, his voice stern. He was still looking at Theo like he was thinking about starting a fight.

“Well, I…” Liam trailed off. Then the gears started to turn in his head, and Theo could tell he was formulating a lie. Theo debated interjecting, but Mr. Dunbar did not look like someone who enjoyed being crossed. So Theo stayed quiet and let Liam handle it. 

“This is Theo, my friend. Said he wanted to learn about farm life, get a real education. I totally forgot I had invited him, Dad. I’m sorry,” Liam said, his voice calm and neutral. Theo cocked his head, amused at Liam’s answer but doing his best to hide it.

Theo watched how Mr. Dunbar shifted his body weight, and the tension seemed to drain from his body. Theo breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s fine, but you still have to finish your chores,” Mr. Dunbar grumbled to Liam, before turning back to Theo. “Welcome to Dunbar ranch, Theo. I’m sure Liam can set you up with some boots. You’re going to need them.” Then he finally smiled, just the barest hint of teeth, as he turned and headed towards the house.

Liam grabbed Theo’s arm and pulled him into the big red barn, and then proceeded to press him up against the wall, his arm across his chest. Theo smiled, because he could hear Liam’s heart beat kick up. It was like nothing had changed at all. 

“What the hell, Theo?” He hissed, his eyes bright. 

“I figured I’d come see how things are going down on the farm,” Theo drawled, trying to be sarcastic.

“You drove all the way out here to see me, didn’t you?” Liam let Theo go and backed up a step, a shit-eating grin on his face. Theo debated trying to take back what he’d already said, but it looked like Liam was seeing right through him already. “When Mason told me you asked about my Dad’s place, I never in a million years thought you’d drive all the way out here,” Liam added. 

Theo should have known Mason would tell Liam.  


“Look, I never said goodbye or anything and that just felt weird. So, have a great summer, see you next fall.” Theo mock saluted and then took a step towards the door, feeling awkward. Like maybe he’d overstepped and Liam was going to read way too much into his visit. 

But Liam’s voice stopped him.

“Wait, you’ve got to stay at least for the day,” Liam said, still smiling. 

“I don’t want to get you in trouble,” Theo said, deflecting. “And I don’t have any of those sweet rubber boots,” he teased as he gestured at Liam. 

“Don’t worry, I think we can find you some old ones. You came just in time to help muck out stalls,” Liam said with a laugh as he turned to walk up the aisle. Theo shrugged and kept pace with Liam. He _did_ drive all the way out there, and surely there was no harm in spending one day with Liam.

“You really think I’m going to help? I’m much better at offering encouragement from afar,” Theo said as he walked.

Liam laughed harder as he reached a big wooden box at the back of the barn and opened it.

“Encouragement? Your pep talks are like, the farthest thing from encouragement. Anyway, I have a feeling your chimera strength is going to come in handy for this,” Liam said as he tossed Theo a pair of boots from inside the box. “Those should work. Let’s get goin’, we are burning daylight.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that phrase in a country song,” Theo said as he reached down to untie his shoelaces and take his shoes off.

“Yeah, you probably did.” Liam flashed him a bright grin, and Theo didn’t even bother looking away. “But I’ve got a party to get to tonight, and the only way we are going is if this barn is spotless.”

“Wait, we?” Theo pulled on the first rubber boot and paused. 

“Yeah, well. Since you drove all the way out here,” Liam said with a shrug.

“Man, you really are committed to this hick lifestyle,” Theo said as he pulled on the other boot. “Let me guess, the party is in a field somewhere? And you are going to wear cut off daisy dukes?” Theo teased.

“Don’t you wish. It’s at my friend Rich’s barn. And you’re driving,” Liam said as he disappeared into one of the horse stalls. Theo grabbed a shovel that was leaning against the wall and followed. Only a few minutes ago he was staring down Liam’s dad, and now he was going to do some honest to god farm work with Liam at his side, in overalls. What a strange day.

Then, a thought occurred to Theo. 

“Wait, you live on a ranch in the summertime but you don’t know how to ride horses?” Theo asked.

“We have four wheelers,” Liam said, deadpan. He looked over at Theo with a teasing smile, his bangs in his face. Theo couldn’t help but laugh.

*

They filled the wheelbarrows and took turns emptying them in the big shit pile out behind the barn. Theo lost count of how many stalls they cleaned out, but they hit a solid rhythm that made the time fly. It was already six o’clock when Theo heard Liam’s dad walking back into the barn.

“Time to eat, boys,” he called out before leaving the barn.

“Okay, we’ll clean up,” Liam said. Liam gestured for Theo to follow him, and they took the shovel, pitchfork, and wheelbarrow outside to a hose that was coiled up next to the barn. Theo was feeling fairly accomplished because there was something satisfying about putting in a full day of physical work. And Liam had sweat running down his face, and his skin practically glistened in the fading sunlight. There was something satisfying about that, too.

“Tip it up,” Liam said as he turned the faucet on. Theo manhandled the wheelbarrow until it was resting on its lip, and then Liam proceeded to spray it out with the hose. Theo registered the glint in Liam’s eye, but before he could get out of the way Liam directed the nozzle at him. The water was shockingly cold against his warm skin at first, and Liam started laughing.

“You fucker,” Theo breathed as he darted forward to grab the hose. He wrestled it away and then Liam made a run for it, still laughing. Theo managed to get him a little wet, but he wasn’t soaked like Theo was. Theo’s shirt clung to him as he turned the faucet back off, but the cool water felt good now that the shock had worn off. Liam’s laugh was easy and inviting instead of mocking, and Theo watched him as he trotted off.

“You have to shower anyway, you smell like shit!” Liam called out over his shoulder as he went into the house. Theo laughed then, a full-bellied laugh that probably startled half the animals on the farm. He felt giddy from the exhilaration once he realized that Liam was so _comfortable_ with him. Liam was comfortable enough to work with him all day and soak him with water and be a sarcastic little shit, even though Theo was very much out of his element and was probably the last person Liam expected to see that day.

“If this was all a ploy to get me wet, Dunbar, I’ll get you back!” Theo shouted in response as he trudged up to the house, his feet sliding around inside the boots because they were filled with water. 

They took turns taking a shower. Liam let Theo go first, practically shoving him into the bathroom to get him to hurry up. Liam seemed focused on getting to the party on time.

“Do you even have hot water in this place?” Theo teased. Liam rolled his eyes before stepping out of the bathroom and pulling the door closed.

“What’s so great about this party, anyway?” Theo called out, knowing that Liam probably could hear him using his werewolf senses. He didn’t offer an answer. Theo looked at himself in the mirror and realized that he was covered in a thin layer of grime. He peeled off his wet clothes and left them in a pile on the floor as he waited for the water to heat up.

Theo kept thinking about the party while grabbed Liam's soap to wash himself. He was having a hard time picturing Liam with friends that weren’t from Beacon Hills. He wondered whether they knew Liam was a werewolf. Surely they didn’t. But it did seem like Liam was anxious to get going, like he was excited to see someone else. The thought struck Theo as both totally plausible and totally awful. 

He knew he had not right to let that thought bother him so much, but now he had to know. He stepped out of the shower and toweled himself off before pulling on his blue skinny jeans and a black Henley. 

Liam dashed into the bathroom as soon as Theo opened the door.

“Sandwiches in the kitchen!” Liam said as he pushed Theo out of the doorway and shut the door. 

Theo stomped off through the hallway to the adjacent room. Maybe read too much into the fact that Liam asked him to stay. Maybe Liam was just being polite. Theo ate his sandwich, and resolved to leave just as soon as he brought Liam back from the party.

*

“Are you okay?” Liam asked as Theo drove them down a two-lane highway. The sun was just starting to dip down below the horizon, and everything was bathed in a pale orange glow.

Theo looked over at Liam, trying to keep his expression neutral.

“Of course. Why?”

“You’ve just been really quiet the whole ride,” Liam pointed out.

“Just tired. Hey, let’s turn on the radio. If you sing along to any of the songs, I’m seriously reporting your secret life to Scott and the pack,” Theo joked as he turned up the volume.

Some country singer was lamenting about lost love, and Theo definitely caught Liam humming the words. He let it slide, though. Theo chanced a glance at him, and Liam’s gaze was softly focused on Theo’s face, his eyes warm. Theo felt his heart rate speeding up, and he took a deep breath.

“Turn here,” Liam directed. And then they were driving down another long gravel driveway, and Theo was amazed Liam could tell this one apart from any of the other gravel driveways they had driven past. Liam reached over to turn down the music as they approached another big red barn. Except this barn looked newer, and there were a ton of trucks and jeeps parked outside. 

“You don’t have to be nervous. These guys are nice. They just don’t know about… the werewolf thing,” Liam offered.

“I’m not nervous, Liam,” Theo snapped as he parked alongside another truck. Liam correctly interpreted his elevated heart rate as a sign of something, and he was only half wrong. Theo wasn't worried about meeting people because he was a chimera. He was worried about meeting someone that was dating Liam.

“Okay, fine.” Liam shook his head as he hopped out of the truck and strode into the barn. Theo could hear the twang of a country song blaring already. He trailed after Liam, his hands in his pockets. Liam was immediately greeted by at least three people. Theo had planned on just blending into the background, but then Liam started introducing him to people as they walked, and Theo plastered on a smile and started shaking hands.

Everybody was wearing tight jeans and boots. The boys were in button-ups and baseball caps, and the girls were in tank-tops, and everyone smiled and said “y’all” a lot. He suddenly felt self-conscious in his skinny jeans and chucks. Theo did not care to learn anyone’s names, so he didn’t pay close attention as people introduced themselves. But then Liam touched him lightly on the elbow, said he was going to find Rich, and walked off into the crowd. Theo took that as a sign to stay put, and watched Liam walk away. His Wrangler jeans hugged his ass and his hips just right, and his brown lace-up work boots made him look older. One of the girls started talking to him, so Theo promptly turned his attention to her instead.

“So are you from Beacon Hills?” The girl asked. 

“Yeah,” Theo said. “Me and Liam go way back,” Theo lied.

“Well, he never has Beacon Hills people come out for the summer. I always thought he was embarrassed or something. He must like you,” the girl said with a wink. Theo did not know how to interpret that information, so he just smiled and nodded. Surely at least Mason had visited Liam’s biological father before?

“Maybe, but he did have me cleaning out stalls already,” Theo finally said. 

“That sounds about right. He’s always working to help his dad, although I’m never sure if his dad appreciates it enough. I’m Cassie, by the way,” Cassie said as she stuck out her hand. Theo shook it, his mind whirring. It was like there was this whole other side to Liam that he knew nothing about. 

“He definitely didn’t seem like the most welcoming guy,” Theo agreed.

Finally, Liam returned with a red-headed guy in blue flannel. Theo narrowed his eyes, trying to see if he could read anything from their body language. But they both looked relaxed and casual.

“Hey, Cassie. Rich, this is Theo, from Beacon Hills,” Liam said as he nodded to the girl and introduced Rich. Theo shook his hand politely, and watched as Rich glanced over at Liam and then gave Theo the once-over. He noticed Cassie was now giving him a weird look too. 

“I’ll get some drinks. You guys want some drinks?” Theo asked, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. He glanced over at Liam, who was smiling at him. But his friends were most definitely judging Theo, and Theo couldn’t figure out why. 

“Sure, that’d be awesome!” Cassie said. Theo quickly walked towards a crowd of people who were gathered around a keg. He grabbed a couple of red cups, and listened in on Liam’s friend group while he filled them.

“That’s _the_ Theo, right? The one you told us about?” Rich asked, sounding amused.

“He _is_ super hot, Liam. Seriously, way to go,” Cassie said, giggling.

Holy shit. That was not at all what Theo expected them to say. 

“Guys, shh. Seriously.” Liam’s voice was flustered.

“What? He’s way over there, dude. No way he can hear us,” Rich said. 

Theo laughed to himself. If only they knew. But he was thankful he had overheard, even if eavesdropping wasn’t exactly the honorable thing to do. He now had a completely different game plan. He walked up to the group with the drinks in hand.

“Hey,” Theo whispered in Liam’s ear once he crowded into his personal space. Liam jumped. Theo handed him one of the red solo cups and smiled slyly, letting on that he’d heard everything. Liam groaned and put his hand over his face.

“Here, Cassie,” Theo said as he handed her the cup. She smiled in thanks, but Theo didn’t have a chance to say anything more before Liam grabbed his arm and dragged him through the crowd of people.

“How much did you hear?” Liam demanded as soon as they were behind the barn.

“You sure like dragging me places,” Theo teased, making Liam sweat it out for just a little bit longer.

“Theo, I’m being serious,” Liam said, his eyes pleading. Theo took a deep breath just as George Strait started crooning through the speakers about crossing his heart.

“All of it,” Theo admitted. He watched Liam’s eyes go wide in a panic. “But, I don’t mind,” Theo continued. Liam cocked his head, clearly still confused.

“Jesus, Liam,” Theo said as he grabbed Liam’s shirt. “You’re hot too,” Theo breathed against Liam’s lips before he closed the distance. Liam melted into him in a press of soft lips, and he could feel Liam’s hands as the surged forward to grip his hips. Theo opened his mouth and Liam reacted in kind, and Theo’s whole body thrummed from the way they fit together. Liam’s thigh was pressing between Theo’s legs, holding him against the wall.

They separated, panting, as Liam gazed at Theo, his eyes betraying his lust.

“So, did you just come here for this?” Liam asked, his voice curious instead of accusatory. 

“Maybe. I didn’t have much of a plan, to be honest.” Theo could feel how fast both of their hearts were beating, as Liam rested his forehead against Theo’s.

“Wanna dance?” Liam drawled, his voice warm and inviting.

“Your friends won’t mind?” Theo asked. Liam lifted his head up to give him an incredulous look. “It’s not weird if there are two guys dancing?” Theo clarified. 

“Oh c’mon, this is still California.” Liam punched Theo’s shoulder playfully before taking his hand.

“It’s easier here, when no one knows I’m a werewolf. And no one knows you…” Liam trailed off, his eyes on the ground.

“Have been to hell? Killed some people?” Theo offered helpfully. Liam rolled his eyes.

“Okay, but you are different now,” Liam said confidently as he tugged Theo back inside the barn. Yeah, Theo _was_ different now. But he never would have pictured himself at some hoedown, Liam’s hands in his back pockets and their hips grinding together to some pop country song about shaking it. 

Then the song changed to one about big green tractors, and Theo couldn’t help but make the obvious joke, their hips still pressed together. “Do you think we could go for a ride on your tractor later?” Theo teased, his lips against Liam’s ear as they danced. 

“Huh? I don’t have a.... Oh,” Liam said as realization dawned on his face. And then he laughed and his eyes crinkled at the corners, and the sight made Theo feel a little out of breath. The day had been so easy and carefree, but good things couldn’t last forever, and Theo remembered he was supposed to be heading home soon. Suddenly Theo’s body ached with something like regret, and he glanced around at all of the other people dancing instead of meeting Liam’s eyes.

“You know, you could stay at my Dad’s for a little while,” Liam said softly. Liam’s hand slid over to the small of his back, and Theo met his gaze, surprised.

“I could probably do that,” Theo said, trying not to sound too relieved. 

“Good, because I’m stuck here all summer,” Liam said with a wink.

With a country song pounding in his ears, and Liam’s fingers in his belt loops, and the smell of hay and horses all around them, Theo leaned forward to kiss Liam again, just because he could.

**Author's Note:**

> On tumblr [here](http://impalachick.tumblr.com/post/183063960548/youre-worth-the-drive-impalachick-teen-wolf) :)


End file.
